So many skis, so little time. The Outdoor Retailer All Mountain Demo is an orgy of new skis, boots, and other winter gear all in one place – at Solitude Mountain Resort. With so many options, I made sure to ski the planks I most wanted to try, and the Voile Buster skis were at the top of my list.
The Buster skis came out this season, and they will return for 2013/14. According to Voile, the Buster is based on the old Drifter ski design, and they effectively replace that model. The Buster is more slim, with a beefy shovel and larger turn radius at 27m. Despite its girth, it comes in at a very backcountry touring-friendly 7lbs, 12 oz. They also have a rockered tip, raised tail, and traditional camber underfoot. I skied the 176cm length Busters and am 5’10” and 150 lbs.
The day of the 2013 Outdoor Retailer Winter All Mountain Demo was a warm, spring-like morning with hardpack groomers and moguls, lots of moguls. Not the ideal conditions to test out a ski like the Buster, but I was really surprised at how well they performed in on-piste conditions long after the last snowstorm.
Basically, the Voile Buster were very stable and stiff. They turned well on groomers and hardpack, despite their girth. Although they were a bit slow going from edge to edge, that’s to be expected with a ski that’s 118 under foot. I was also surprised at how versatile these skis are. They could turn tight in trees, and were able to slarve to a stop on a dime when needed. I even took to the bumps and did adequately well. While they didn’t exactly charge in the moguls, I survived the descent unscathed. Another bonus is I love the classic, wood grain design of the top sheet.
Overall, I would definitely purchase the Voile Buster skis for deep resort powder days and for pretty much any day for touring in the backcountry.
The Voile Busters dimensions are 139/118/127 and are available now! Check out Voile.com for these and the rest of the skis in their lineup.
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